UPPINGHAM IN 1851 A NIGHT IN THE LIFE OF A THRIVING TOWN UPPINGHAM LOCAL HISTORY STUDY GROUP MARCH 2001 Jim Easton was a fishmonger lodging in North Street in 1851 ©2001 Published by Uppingham Local History Study Group ISBN 0 9540076-0-3 First Reprint April 2001 Copies of this publication may be obtained from Uppingham Local History Study Group 6 Leamington Terrace, Uppingham, Rutland LE15 9TH View of Uppingham from south c1851, showing school as it was under Henry Holden and the south face of the houses in Leamington Terrace. (Uppingham School Archives) CONTENTS Page I THE POPULATION 3 II RESIDENTS AND NON-RESIDENTS 9 III MAKING A LIVING 15 IV WEALTH, POWER AND POVERTY 25 V HOUSING THE PEOPLE 35 VI UPPINGHAM AND ITS AREA 41 VII LIVING IN UPPINGHAM IN 1851 45 Appendices 1. The Thorpe family in Uppingham in 1851 2. List of birthplaces of Uppingham residents in 1851 3. List of occupations 4. List of pupils at Uppingham Grammar School in 1851 Index Jim Crowden of Horn Lane, farmer of 180 acres; he remained unmarried. THE SOURCES A word or two about our sources for this study. The census: We obtained a print out of the microfilm of the census enumerators' books (two of them for Uppingham) from the joint Record Office in Leicester. The cost of this almost killed the group activity at the start. We made a transcript of these census books and passed copies to the local libraries, museum, and Uppingham schools in printed and/or in diskette form for their own use. We then used this as the basis of our studies. The 1839 map: We are fortunate in having a town map of the period (see pages 30-31). The 1839 map of Uppingham surveyed by John Wood has been known for a long time in printed form. A hand-drawn version recently appeared but it contains some inaccuracies. The group was able to obtain photocopies of this map from one of the persons in the town holding a printed copy (to whom we are very grateful). The map is very detailed, containing names but illegible in places. It may have been drawn up for rating purposes, and thus the names on it are those of the ratepayers, not always the owners or occupiers. Court Rolls: The Uppingham Local History Group has been working on the court rolls of the Manor of Preston with Uppingham and those of the Rectory Manor for many years. Copies of relevant notes from these have been made available to the 1851 Group by Peter Lane. Peter has also provided us with many other references from his vast knowledge of the records of the town. We cannot express too strongly our gratitude to him for his generous allocation of time and resources to our project. Churchyard: The 1851 Group has surveyed all the relevant churchyard memorials relating to the nineteenth century, and much information has come from this source. Copies of this survey (with all our other records) are available from the Group and will be deposited in the town. Rate books (RB): Peter Lane drew the attention of the Group to a rate book of 1837. We obtained a photocopy of this through the support of Hilary Crowden. Hilary was also able to make available to us a photocopy of a rate book of 1821. Other sources: We have used the Directories for Rutland (Pigot's Directories of 1829 and 1830-31; White's Directories of 1846 and 1855; Slater’s Directory of 1850 and others). A photocopy of the 1855 Directory was provided by the Rutland County Museum to whom we are grateful. We have used some material from the Stamford Mercury but that has not been easy to use systematically because it is not available locally. We have been able to obtain a number of old photographs from various sources in the town; Tony Traylen has been of great help here. In particular, a portrait gallery of older persons, most of whom are listed in the 1851 census, has been made available to us: this is a real treasure chest. We have collected much information from local residents orally but have not made a systematic effort to collect oral history since we are dealing with a period of 150 years ago. Deeds have been inspected thanks to Charles Mason, Charles Wells and Mr Marshall. Miscellaneous material has come from other helpers such as Auriol Thomson of Glaston, Warwick Metcalfe, Margaret Stacy (on the Methodist Chapel), and Audrey Buxton of Greetham. We need also to thank the following: Dennis Mills of Branston near Lincoln, Dr Keith Snell of Leicester University, the Archivist of the Gypsy Nation in Leicester, V Pearson of the Rutland Millennium History project (funded by the National Lottery Fund), and Roy Knight of the Rutland County Library Service (for permission to hold an exhibition in Uppingham Library). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Financial assistance came to the work of the group from the Rutland Millennium History project and the Uppingham Town Council, but most of the expenses have been met by members of the group. Illustrations have been obtained from and are published by permission of Uppingham School Archives, Dr Ian Ryder, Dorothy Elmes, Tony Traylen, Marc Oxley, R Viney, the Congregational Church, Robert Cliff, John Pearson (the Vaults). Most of the photographs have been taken by members of the study group. The group gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Arnold Wills & Co. Ltd of Uppingham towards the cost of this publication. INTRODUCTION On the night of Sunday 30 March 1851, a population We have had much fun in writing this book. It has census was taken throughout England, including occupied many hours of our time (and the time of other Uppingham. The records of this census provide the people, for which we are very grateful). We hope that first full account of the people of Uppingham in the many friends of Uppingham town will gain as history. This small book has been prepared by a study much pleasure from it as we have. And that there will group in the town to commemorate this event, and will be more to come. be published exactly 150 years later, on 30 March Carolyn Cartwright 2001. In it, we try to see in what ways Uppingham in Caroline Crombie 1851 may have been different from what it is today. Hilary Crowden Julia Culshaw The census records themselves have formed the focus Patricia Damen of our study, but we have also used many other Henry Dawe sources. We do not claim we have undertaken a full Betty Howard study of Uppingham in 1851: there is so much more to Helen Hutton find out. Some people in the town know more about Phil Hutton the history of Uppingham than we shall ever know. In Babs Inverarity many of the subjects we have discussed here, we are Amanda Mudimer keenly aware that we have only started to uncover the Marc Oxley past. There are other records (especially those located Brian Robertson in the Records Office at Leicester) which need to be Alan Rogers examined. But what we have here is a start towards a Kate Siviter fuller history of Uppingham, which we hope others Roy Stephenson may join us to explore. Charles Wells Sue Westlake January 2001 Ploughing match in Uppingham in 1857 (Illustrated London News) 1 LIST OF STREET NAMES USED IN THE CENSUS We have used the place names as they are given in the census. They are listed below in the sequence they occur in the census books, with their modern equivalents: Book 1: High Street (south side) Leamington Terrace Innocents Yard now gone under Grammar School rebuilding Union Workhouse now Constables House, Uppingham School Leicester Road Hopkins Court behind Boots the Chemists Horn Lane Queen Street, sometimes Royal Oak Street Grammar School School Lane Market Place includes Swan Yard Beast Market includes South View and part of Station Road South Backside Spring Back Way Stockerston Road Hog Hill includes part of Station Road and Norton Street Meeting Lane Adderley Street; includes Mount Pleasant and all properties at end of Adderley Street, Pudding Bag End, Constitution Hill Kettering Road London Road Book 2: North Street North Street Row called Ragmans Row; now gone but on site of 30 North Street West Morris' Buildings block in triangle between Leicester Road and Stockerston Road High Street (north side) Reeves Yard Crown Inn Yard Toll Gate House on corner of Gas Hill Mill House beyond end of town Todds Piece or Lanes Terrace Tods Terrace Bullocks Yard almost certainly Hopes Yard Inmans Yard at back of Unicorn Gambles Yard off High Street West on north side; also known as Bennetts Entry and Sheilds Yard Orange Lane or Workhouse or Chapel Lane Orange Street Brick Yard on Seaton Road ABBREVIATIONS TO FOOTNOTES 1853 The School Before 1853, Uppingham School Magazine vol. 20 1888 pp 1-8 1911 Vanishing Uppingham, Uppingham School Magazine vol. 49 1911 pp 34-39 Aldred Notes on the History of Uppingham compiled by Canon C C Aldred, copied by Uppingham Local History Group 1999 Bur Reg Burial registers of Uppingham Parish Church in Records Office in Leicester Char Comm Report of Parliamentary Charity Commission 1839 CR Notes drawn from Court Rolls of Manor of Preston with Uppingham and Rectory Manor, from Uppingham Local History Group Hodgk Mr Hodgkinson 1855-1880, Uppingham School Magazine vol 18 1880 pp 228-231 LRO Joint Records Office in Leicester (official title Records Office of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland) MI Monumental Inscriptions from Uppingham Churchyard Survey Parkinson Richard Parkinson's General View of Agriculture in Rutland 1808, reprinted by David and Charles, Newton Abbot Rawnsley Early Days at Uppingham under Edward Thring, by an Old Boy (W F Rawnsley) 1904 RB1 1821 Rate Book (photocopy in hands of Study Group) RB2 1837 Rate Book of Uppingham (photocopy in hands of Study Group) Slater 1850 Slater’s Directory of Rutland 1850 SM Stamford Mercury UppRut Uppingham in Rutland edited by Tony Traylen 1982 2 CHAPTER I: THE POPULATION OF UPPINGHAM THE CENSUS What the census does not tell us On the night of Sunday 30 March 1851, a wet and Two weddings and a funeral: The first thing we must windy night, if contemporaries are to be believed, a notice is that the picture they paint is a static one.